Nico Raskin has opened up on his time working under Russell Martin, in a new interview with the Rangers midfielder.
The first head coach appointment of Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises era, Martin replaced Barry Ferguson in the dugout, though his reign would be short-lived, with the ex-defender lasting just 123 days in his post.
One of the most publicised events at that time was the breakdown between the 40-year-old and Belgian international Raskin, who looked to be heading for the exit at Ibrox. Now a star player under Martin's replacement, Danny Rohl, the 25-year-old has recounted last summer's debacle with the former Southampton manager.
"He [Martin] called me saying I wasn't in his plan," he told the Rangers Review. "Whatever happened, I wouldn't be in his plan, and it would be better for me to leave. I think that was just because the window was closing a couple of days after. It was kind of the last try [to get me to leave]. But I said to him, ‘I'll be coming to training on Monday, and then we'll have a chat’.
“It was already hard when [Martin] told me I wasn't playing that game [away at Brugge]. Because I thought, ‘That's in my country. I know people are going to be there watching the game’.
“I remember Thibaut Courtois talking to me about that game and also the Celtic game where I wasn't involved because he watched it and was surprised to not see me playing. It was difficult for me to explain why at the time."
On the now-infamous Loch Lomond and Conic Hill trip, Raskin continued, “I had to come back to train for two weeks. Then the Hearts game happened. I wasn't with the squad. I was alone in the stand for that game.
“And then after that game, this was the weird situation for me, where suddenly I was invited to the day where we went climbing, and it felt strange for me because I felt that nothing had happened. It was all ‘How are you?’ And nothing really... back to normal. Like those two weeks never happened.
READ THE FULL 3500 WORD INTERVIEW WITH NICO RASKIN HERE
“At the end of the day, it was a misunderstanding of the situation. And then with the pressure, people can maybe sometimes go in some direction and think they are right or whatever. I just think the whole situation has been too much for what it had to be. Way too much. I never wanted that.
“I don't think it was good for the team at that period when we were all struggling. to have a big story about that. And was it a deflection or anything? I don't know. But it was really not needed.”
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